


Beyond the Human Genes

by NocturnaMajora



Category: Gundam, Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:48:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25471882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NocturnaMajora/pseuds/NocturnaMajora
Summary: Kim Desjardins is a soldier who lives in a dark world where a violent conflict exists between Coordinators and Naturals. A Natural soldier, she is enlisted in a paramilitary faction called Division, where she becomes a renowned pilot. But the war rages on and Kim's actions weight more than ever now in the balance of things. Her past, her present, her future... are all dictated by this senseless war against the very nature of human beings. Will her emotional conflicts keep her from doing her part in the war or will Yzak Jule, a silver-haired Coordinator, help her through her nightmares?
Relationships: Cagalli Yula Athha/Athrun Zala, Lacus Clyne/Kira Yamato, Yzak Joule/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	Beyond the Human Genes

Kim Desjardin looked at the stars through the window of her cabin and thought about the consequences of the war. Anger flowed through her veins, as it had been the case for many years now. _The Coordinators don’t have a reason to push us off this world_ , she thought. _It is ours and it should belong to everyone_. She sunk deep in her thoughts as she sat on her neatly made bed, her knees pressed to her chest.

She looked at the freshly pressed black Commander uniform that hung next to her bed, her eyes riveted on the intricate _Division_ logo, a logo that made the ones wearing it operate in the shadows of this godless war, supporting the Naturals from the bloodiest corners of the world. Private funding paid for Kim Desjardins’ salary and for the entirety of the _Division_ ’s activities. Fundings given by Natural extremists that cried for Coordinator blood ever since the tragedy of the destruction of the Junius Seven plant. And ever since, she’s been part of this military faction of Naturals that raided the PLANTs, their ships and their Mobile suits at every opportunity she got.

Militarized mercenaries.

And as the best pilot of the _Division_ , Kim Desjardins had been named Commander, earning even the attention of the highest authorities of the Earth Alliance. Kim Desjardins had everything she ever wanted- a prestigious military rank, a Mobile suit of her own, and recognition within the _Division_. But there was something that eluded her, something she would never be able to procure herself by wits, talent, and hard work.

Peace of mind.

She looked at the logo on her military uniform again and frowned, her dwelling anger taking the better of her again. That _Division_ logo was a personal emblem for her. It always reminded her of her past and how she got to this point in her life. Kim closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting a wave of memories flow through her mind, letting her relive moments of her childhood that ultimately made her but wished she could forget.

_Heavy snow fell on her head as Kim looked at the bloody ground. Her parents were lying on the soiled earth, dead. She touched her mother's forehead with her tiny white hands and she felt cold and lifeless, her eyes open but unseeing. Tears escaped her dark eyes as she brought her parents' hands together, hoping they’d find eternal rest. And then suddenly, there was something that caught her attention on the horizon._

_She saw something huge and dark-colored, an enormous humanoid metal machine with a laser blue sword and it was walking straight towards her. It was so big she had to push my head far back to see the top of its head. Its shiny red eyes looked at her as she fell down, overwhelmed by the sight that appeared before her very eyes. The coat young Kim was wearing was soaked with blood and her hands were cold but not as cold as the snow that fell from the sky, that day._

_She was freezing, but she stayed silent, her mouth agape, in awe as she ogled that amazing, intricate war machine. It hovered to her and landed carefully on the ground, the earth below Kim quaking and making her tremble. She blocked the rocks from hitting her face, but the wind pushed her backward still and she rolled on her back, terrified._

_She looked at the grey sky and wept in silence as the sound of explosions in the near distance reverberated through her. Smoke covered the area and she closed her eyes, knowing that the machine towering before her was a Mobile suit and that she would probably be its pilot’s next victim._

_When she realized that the end did not come to her, she opened her eyes and saw a man coming down from that monstrous machine’s open cockpit, a cord attached to his hip as he made his way down to the ground and ran towards her. Kim could not help but to curiously look at the man’s face through his helmet’s visor, their gaze finally connecting. She had just lost everything in this bloody war, everything that she ever knew._

_And now the only thing she could rely on to survive was this stranger that came running to her._

_Finally, the man knelt before her, his grey eyes laid on her worryingly. ‘Are you alright, child? Are you injured? Can you speak?’_

_Kim understood the man, the language he spoke was familiar to her, it was the same as when her father spoke to her from time to time, but she didn’t feel comfortable answering the stranger’s questions. She simply shook her head. ‘It’s cold here, isn’t it?’ he asked. Again, Kim could only shake her head._

_‘What happened here?’ he asked, his baritone voice mesmerizing the young civilian._

_Kim knew he asked what had happened to her and her parents but couldn’t answer with words. Only with tears and sobs as she pointed at the corpses of her parents, unable to look at them anymore. She found the strength to open her mouth, her lips chapped from the dry air._

_‘Some strange men dressed in red uniforms came and killed mommy and daddy with guns-’ she replied, her voice strained with heavy sobbing hiccups. ‘Why did they not kill me?’ she asked._

_The man sighed. ‘I don’t know. But don’t cry anymore. I will take care of you now.’_

_He took her hand and he walked and dragged Kim along towards his machine. As she hung to the man that held her closely while reeling them back in towards the high perched cockpit, she looked back at the site of her ravaged house, crying. The man patted on her on the shoulder and met her watery gaze._

_‘You can’t go back there. You’ll die. Do you understand what I’m telling you?’ he asked._

_Kim nodded sadly, wiping away the tears from her cheeks. ‘Good girl. You’ll be fine, you’ll see. Don’t look back down there again, it’ll do you no good.’ He continued as Kim looked up to look at the imposing indigo-colored machine that this tall man was bringing her to as they almost reached the cockpit._

_‘What… What is that?’ she pointed at the machine of war. The stranger smiled._

_‘Code name X120-09, it’s a GUNDAM model named Vengeance.’ When they reached the cockpit, he quickly pulled her inside and Kim was fascinated by the computers and the advanced displays inside of it, kneeling beside the pilot’s seat as her eyes looked around, Kim now familiarizing herself with her new environment. So many screens and buttons and levers…_

_‘What’s your name, little girl?’ the stranger asked her. But Kim didn’t answer. She was too fascinated by this Mobile suit, what it could do and how safe she felt inside of its cockpit. The stranger chuckled._

_‘I’m being a little rude, aren’t I? Maybe I should tell you my name first. I’m Commander Charles Duflamme.’ Finally, she turned her head and met his gaze._

_‘Kim Desjardins.’ She replied._

_Charles Duflamme extended his hand to Kim, who’s tiny one reached out and shook it._

_‘Well, looks like you’re my new friend now, Kim.’ He said, patting her on the head as he closed the cockpit of the Mobile suit. He ignited the engine and all of a sudden, all the flashy displays that Kim seemed so curious of lit up, startling her. On the made display that was placed right in front of the pilot, big bold letters spelled GUNDAM and a very advanced digital map of the area appeared before her eyes. The complexity of this machine was astounding, and Kim was simply content to sit and look at it, trying to analyze what she saw. She looked at the symbols on the monitor and the gages before the machine hovered slowly, Commander Duflamme adjusting his piloting to the nervous orphan that stood beside him in the cramped cockpit._

_Her eyes were locked onto the Mobile suit_ _’s operating system. Captain Duflamme smirked._

_She was already trying to understand how it worked. The mind of a young child is always so very intriguing, he thought._

‘ _Don't be scared, Kim. We're going home now. It might be a rough ride for both of us, but I don’t want you to worry. You are safe with me. I will protect both of us. Those mean people will not hurt you again, do you understand me?’ he asked._

_Kim looked into his deep blue eyes and found compassion. She decided that she would have to trust him._

_And with that, she nodded._

_Commander Duflamme pressed on the accelerator and the Mobile suit flew straight in the air, Kim stumbling backward but her eyes never leaving the main display, not even to look at the Commander’s fast typing as he entered data she could not understand in the main Mobile suit’s computer. The hollow sounds of the Mobile suit’s articulated arms and legs moving filled the cockpit’s silence. And then, Kim noticed that on the main display, red dots were starting to appear and from the looks of it, they were closing in on her and this tall stranger named Charles Duflamme_

_‘Looks like we are about to have company, Kim. Now, listen. I need you to stay calm while I take care of our enemies.’ He said, slightly pushing Kim at the back of the cockpit._

_She crouched behind the pilot’s seat, her round eyes focused on the Commander’s every move. Duflamme reached high with his hand and lowered down the manual scope and placed it before his eyes. Kim gasped. What he now saw through the scope, the saw on the pilot’s advanced display. She could see what he saw._

_And what he saw were three enemy machines flying straight towards them, their Mobile suits equipped with large laser guns._

_Inside, her body rattled with nervousness. But a part of her was excited to see what the Commander would do, what would happen._

_And as Commander Duflamme pressed heavily on the accelerator and propelled the Vengeance high in the sky, his hand reached for a lever next to Kim and gripped it, his fingers reaching for the trigger. Green beams were shot from the Vengeance’s own sniper rifle and the other mobile suits suddenly exploded in the dark clouds of smoke._

_That was the most exhilarating sight Kim Desjardins had ever seen._

_The red dots on the display disappeared and Commander Duflamme turned his head around, smiling at the little girl that he had rescued._

_‘Our enemies are gone for now. That was to avenge your parents’ death.’ He said, pressing on the accelerator and flying the Vengeance high in the sky, heading east from what Kim could tell. Before long, they were flying over destroyed cities, places that Kim and her family often visited and Commander Duflamme turned to her again but this time, his voice was deep, his tone sad._

_‘What happened to you was not your fault.’ He said. Kim listened ever so closely. ‘This war was started by angry adults and now it has become the children’s fight as well. And for that, I’m sorry, Kim. I truly am. I cannot bring what you once had back, but I can bring you to safety.’_

_She listened._

_But she refused to cry._

_And so she focused on the screen, analyzing with her wide-open eyes every symbol, every inch of the virtual map that glowed in the darkness of the cockpit, her eyes moving from the different displays to the large and complex typing board that was used to input commands in the operating system to the intricate radar system. There were so many buttons to this machine, but for some reason, Kim was not intimidated. She was the more curious about this Mobile suit, this GUNDAM._

_‘Do you understand what you see?’ had asked Commander Duflamme._

_Kim raised an eyebrow. ‘Do you?’ she replied. Her quirkiness made the older Commander laugh._

_‘Most of the time.’ He replied. ‘Would you like to learn to pilot, too?’ he asked._

_With no hesitation, she nodded. ‘Yes.’_

_Commander Duflamme smiled. ‘I know you connected all the dots in your head the minute you saw our enemies on the Vengeance’s radar. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you looking around, comprehending all that you saw. You have an analytical mind, Kim. You seem very aware for someone as young as yourself. Why did I choose to do what I did?’_

_Kim was puzzled. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked._

_‘Why did I use a sniper rifle instead of a close combat weapon?’ he clarified._

_She thought for a minute and then smiled. ‘Because there were three of them and one of us. The safest option was to shoot them from afar and take down its front leader, then the other two backup machines rather than face them one-on-one alone.’_

_Commander Duflamme chuckled. ‘Look at you, kid.’ He replied, patting her head. ‘Maybe you do have what it takes to ride a Mobile suit. You’re a weird child, I’ll give you that. You can easily analyze an attack pattern and come up with a counter strike plan. And yet you’re just a little Natural girl…’ He continued, Kim drinking his words._

_‘A Natural?’ Kim inquired._

_‘It means that you were born naturally. It means you have no genetic enhancements.’_

_Kim frowned, lost. ‘Is that bad?’ she asked._

_Captain Duflamme cleared his throat. ‘Some would think so, yes.’_

_Kim’s mind wandered where it had never wandered before, confused by his words._

_‘Why?’ she asked._

_Captain Duflamme sighed. ‘Because degenerate fools have distorted this world so much that they can’t see the beauty in **all** living things.’ He replied. ‘Don’t worry about what people think of you, Kim. Do not let anyone tell you that you are inferior. You are what you are.’ he said, touching Kim’s forehead with his fingertip. ‘And that’s ok.’_

_Kim was lost. She remained silent._

_But tears still rolled down her cheeks._

_Again, the tall soldier wiped them away for her. ‘You have to act like a soldier now, Kim. No more tears. That’s an order.’ He said firmly._

_Kim was about to speak when the Vengeance was suddenly thrown down violently, its body pushed from the air as the radar system screamed its siren throughout the cockpit, Kim screaming as she saw Commander Duflamme’s body go limp._

_He had hit his head during the impact and was now unconscious, the Vengeance falling from the sky and their enemies now on their tail. The red dots on the main map were not lying. The Vengeance was under attack. She was under attack._

_There was no time to think._

_Kim jumped over the Commander’s knees, her tiny hands grabbing the throttle and pulling it up, her tiny foot pressing violently in the accelerator, trying to level the Vengeance in the fly, praying that what she did would stop it’s terrible fall from the sky. Soon, the GUNDAM was immobile again, hovering idly. Kim’s breathing was calming down, but when she saw the red dots closing in on the Vengeance, she needed to act and fast._

_She reached for the typing board and navigated the Vengeance’s artillery, her eyes blinking fast, her mind trying to assimilate all that she saw. Assault rifle, sniper rifle, laser sword, scattershot cannons, combat daggers… What to do?_

_Her heartbeat was drumming in her ears. She was too young to understand any of this._

_And yet… why did she?_

_Quickly, she chose to arm the Vengeance with the laser swords as he enemies, two Mobile suits, were dangerously approach and they were too fast for her to prepare herself and adjust the sniper’s scope as Commander Duflamme had done earlier._

_She could now see the two grey machine heavy for her, rifles in hand as she quickly equipped the Vengeance with its weapons, one in each hand, her tiny hands flying quickly over the typing board of the Vengeance’s operating system. And before she knew, the first Mobile suit shot straight at her, her eyes catching the light of the laser beam. Quickly, she toggled the Vengeance sideways, evading the beam as the Mobile suit rushed towards her._

_In a matter of milliseconds, Kim grabbed the weapon throttle lever and jerked it desperately, the Vengeance’s arm becomes an extension of hers as it slashed in half the enemy machine, its loud explosion numbing her earring as metal debris hit the Vengeance. The second Mobile suit came to her from the left, her radar catching it almost instantly. Quickly, she made the Vengeance drop the laser swords and reached left to grab the rifle toggle and turned the Vengeance around, quickly aimed the rifle at the second Mobile’s suit and shot straight at the cockpit, the green-ray of light making the machine explode into tiny pieces._

_And in an instant, she was safe again._

_Kim looked at the virtual map. Nothing. No more incoming enemies._

_Just silence._

_And then she heard Captain Duflamme groan, his eyes looking at the little girl sitting on his knees through the visor of his helmet, utterly bewildered._

_‘What happened?’ he asked. Kim looked down._

_‘They attacked us.’ She simply replied. He sat up again, fully grasping what had just happened._

_‘You protected us.’ He stated blankly. ‘From experienced pilots.’ The words escaped his mouth. ‘How can this be? How did you do it?’ The surprise in his voice did not unsettle the young child._

_‘You told me I had to act like a soldier. I did.’ She replied._

_Commander Charles Duflamme’s expressive blue eyes stared at the child before him, his thoughts storming inside of his mind. And then he smiled._

_‘Yes, you did. And you will become a real soldier. I promise that one day, you will pilot a Mobile suit. **I promise**.’_

Kim Desjardin’s reverie was abruptly stopped by the strident ring of an alarm. It resonated throughout her room, throughout the Division’s mothership, the Star-Strike.

The CIC operator’s voice called out to her through the ship’s P.A.

‘Commander Desjardins! Seth Yoshiro! To attention! You are summoned to the hangar immediately. ZAFT attacked a neutral ship! Please board your Mobile suits!’

Kim Desjardins quickly grabbed her Commander uniform, dressed and ran outside of her quarters, bypassing other soldiers before she threw herself in the elevator leading to the Mobile suit hangar. She straightened her military jacket and pushed back her dark hair, her eyes focused on the sliding door of the elevator, wishing they would open sooner. When she finally reached the hangar, she bolted down the long alley leading to the open area where her Mobile suit, the Valiant, was stationed and a tall, brown-haired boy standing in front of it, his green eyes gazing straight at her.

‘Where were you, Kim? Taking a nap, I see?’ he said, pointing at her disheveled hair.

She gave him a look. ‘Shut up, Seth. We don’t have time for this.’

The engineers rushed on finishing the final touches to Kim and Seth’s equipment and finally, the head engineer gave us the signal that we could access our Mobile Suits. ‘Be safe out there! It’s ZAFT we’re dealing with, don’t forget!’

Kim Desjardins stepped on the boarding platform and soon, she was elevated to the Valiant’s cockpit, Seth Yoshiro doing the same as he stepped inside the Outpacer, his own GUNDAM Mobile suit. As Kim sat inside the Valiant’s cockpit, she couldn’t help but smile. Sitting in that cockpit was second nature to her now. It was the closest thing she had to a home, after all. She ignited the engine and the bold GUNDAM letters on her display monitor was a welcome sight. Soon, the Valiant was wired and placed on the Mobile suit on the launching platform, Kim making the final preparation to the Mobile suit’s operating system.

The CIC operator guided their launch.

‘Preparations are done! System all green!’ I heard Seth's voice through the radio connection.

‘Seth Yoshiro, Outpacer, let's go!’

With that, the Outpacer was ejected into orbit and the Valiant was ready to be launched next.

"Preparations all done! System all green! Show them! 

‘Kim Desjardin, Valiant, I'm taking off!’

The familiar feeling of the push towards the stars made Kim Desjardins smirked as she quickly accelerated towards the Outpacer, the green Mobile suit hovering amongst the stars, its pilot awaiting his orders. The radio communication between the two Mobile suits created a reassuring presence for the two young soldiers, who had been piloting and fighting together ever since they’ve been recruited into the _Division_.

‘Are you tired, Kim? Want me to lead this mission?’ he asked, a familiar teasing tone to his voice.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. ‘If I wanted someone to screw this mission up, I would have asked the lunch lady.’ She replied, giggling. ‘I’m not _tired_ , Seth. Stop worrying about me, would you?’

‘No can do, Commander.’ He replied jokingly. Kim sighed. They didn’t have time to banter around.

‘What is ZAFT up to now?’ she asked. The Valiant and the Outpacer flew at the speed of sound into the vast emptiness of space, heading towards the last position where the Star-Strike had detected the distress signal.

‘Obviously up to no good, as usual. They attacked a mother ship by the name of Archangel, an Earth Forces battalion ship... There are only two Mobile suits on that unit if the rumors are true. Beautiful ship, apparently. The captain thought that we could go to their aid, seeing as this is an Earth Forces’ allied ship.’

Kim smirked, knowing he was not done. She knew him _that_ well, seeing as he had been her best friends for years. ‘I thought you could show me some new neat moved with the laser swords.’ He continued. ‘So, what do you say, uh?’

‘ _What_ moves?’ she replied, smiling. Seth Yoshiro was an experienced pilot, but he always was hungry for more combat knowledge.

‘Don’t play dumb with me, Kim. I’ve seen you _swish_ and _bam_ like ten Mobile suits on our last outing using our new laser longswords gear. I wanna learn how to do that too.’

‘Oh, _that_. You’re too novice to try that one, Seth. Maybe when you get better.’ She replied, giggling.

‘You’re so mean, Kim.’ He whined.

And then, in the far distance, they saw an active battlefield and a large white, elegant ship under attack by four Mobile suits.

‘Let's go, Seth, they're in trouble.’

‘Yes, Commander!’

Both the Outpacer and the Valiant flew at an alarming speed through the debris of the previous fight in that area, scraps of metal from destroyed ships, and Mobile suit floating in the emptiness of space. _There was carnage here._ The highly digitalized system that permitted the sounds from outside the cockpit of the Valiant caught the cacophony of the laser beams that were shot in the distance.

‘I’ll never get used to those sounds.’ Said Seth. ‘The sounds of war.’

Kim sighed. ‘I don’t think anyone can get used to _that_ , Seth.’

The Valiant and the Outpacer stopped their chase abruptly, the Archangel now visible and well within sight. They had deployed a Mobile armor and only one Mobile suit, a white model that seemed to be moving erratically, the pilot obviously not experienced. The four ZAFT Mobile suits clearly took advantage of that situation, three of them closing in on the white GUNDAM.

‘There they are.’

‘They’ll die if we don’t act soon, Kim.’ said Seth. ‘What are my orders?’ he asked.

Kim thought for a minute and closed her eyes. Her heart was beating fast in her chest.

But she remained calm.

‘Seth, you’ll back the Mobile armor and its pilot.’ she ordered. ‘I’ll support the GUNDAM. Go now.’

Quickly, the two Division’s pilots went on their separate ways, aiming for their own objective. Kim Desjardins grabbed her sniper toggle and reached for her overhead scope, aiming the Valiant’s powerful laser assault sniper rifle at the red ZAFT mobile suit, its flashing beam of light barely dodged by the other pilot, who flew back to leave the pilot of the white GUNDAM to arm his machine with its own rifle. The Outpacer quickly flew around the Archangel’s red Mobile armor, Seth also aiming his cannon rifle towards the grey and tan Mobile suits, its devastating rays warding off the two ZAFT pilots.

The open connection on the radio wavelengths caught her attention, the ZAFT pilots communications resonating inside her own cockpit for her to hear.

 _‘Who is that? Wait,_ _there’s_ ** _two_** _of them_ _?’_ said the first voice.

 _‘Calm down Yzak, you have to keep your head cool here._ ’ Replied his squadmate, who kept sending powerful blasts from his Mobile suit’s artillery cannon towards the Outpacer, the Division’s green mobile suit directly challenging his assault.

 _‘ **Shut up** , Dearka! Let's get these bastards **right now**!’_ said the man named Yzak. While they were exchanging ray beams, Kim flew the Valiant towards the white GUNDAM Mobile suit and reached to its pilot by means of an open-connection radio system, her firm voice calling out to the inexperienced pilot.

‘Mobile suit pilot, I’m addressing you now. My name is Kim Desjardins. I do not pose a threat, I was sent here to protect you. What's your name, pilot?’

Through the gritty noise of the radio system, Kim heard a young man’s voice, shaky but nonetheless clear.

_‘My name is Kira Yamato! I'm the pilot of the GUNDAM model Strike!’_

‘Is your Mobile suit damaged?’ Kim asked.

 _‘No. But I couldn’t say the same if it wasn’t for you showing up here.’_ He conceded.

‘Good. Can you relay my radio signal to the CIC of your mothership? I need to speak with your captain.’ replied Kim. And with time ticking precision, the pilot named Kira Yamato linked the Valiant’s communication system to the Archangel, Kim now able to speak directly to its captain and its crew.

‘Personnel of the Earth Alliance’s ship Archangel, I am speaking to you. My name is Kim Desjardins, Commander of this _Division_ counter assault team. I am here to assist your troops. We will support the Strike and your Mobile armor. Do not open fire against us. I repeat, **do not open fire**. We are here to assist.’

‘ _They heard you._ ’ Replied Kira. ‘ _We need to get back to the field, my Commander, he needs back up!’_

‘Alright, Kira Yamato.’

With the press of her Kim’s foot on the accelerator, the Valiant was thrust swiftly across the open battlefield, the Strike on its tail as Kim evaluated the situation, her eyed riveted on her digital combat map, the Valiant’s high tech radar detecting the four Mobile suits, their code names and their provenance.

‘Their mothership is not far from here…’ she muttered, navigating through the indigo-colored GUNDAM’s operating system, flying through the vast amount of information that her operating system’s database could provide her with about her enemies.

_GAT-X102 Duel Gundam, GAT-X103 Buster Gundam, GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam, GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam… Stolen from Orb’s station Heliopolis by a highly specialized ZAFT commando unit… part of Orb’s Morgenroete station G-Project…_

‘Seth.’ she said via radio signal. ‘These are stolen Mobile suits. They belong to Orb.’ she continued. ‘We can’t shoot them down. That would cause a political backlash for the _Division_. Be careful.’

She heard her teammate sigh heavily. ‘Great. We’re fighting against machines we can’t destroy. _Just great._ ’

‘We have to push them back.’ Kim replied to him. ‘There is no other alternative-’

A voice interrupted her and made a connection to their radio wavelength.

 _‘Pilot of the indigo Mobile suit! Answer me right now! Tell your teammate to stop attacking me and I'll agree to talk to you, pilot.’_ Kim looked down on her communications monitor and concluded that the voice she had heard came from the _GAT-X303 Aegis._ The red Mobile suit had stopped its movement, the Outpacer still being challenged by the _GAT-X102 Duel_ and the _GAT-X103 Buster_. She knew Seth had heard the young man’s voice too, but his teammates did not seem to refrain from shooting in his direction, tailing him as the Outpacer moved away from the Aegis, the Valiant and the Strike.

 _‘Pilot of the indigo Mobile suit, can you hear me?’_ he called out again.

‘Make your point now, pilot of the Aegis.’ Kim replied, unphased.

 _‘Who are you and what are you doing here? Why are you defending this Earth Force’s ship?’_ he asked.

The Valiant and the Aegis hovered in space, at a safe distance from each other, the Strike floating behind Kim’s Mobile suit, ready to attack at the faintest movement from the Aegis. This was parlay, a temporary truce and anyone breaking that fragile trust could be shot down immediately, every pilot knew of this.

‘Pilot of the stolen _GAT-X303_ Aegis, listen well. Before I answer I need your men to cease fire right this instant. I will not parlay with you further if they do not do so _right now_.’

And with that, the Duel and the Buster retreated further away, the Outpacer and the Archangel’s Mobile armor heading closer to the Archangel, assuming a defensive barricade to protect the Earth Force’s mothership as they positioned their cannon towards the ZAFT commando unit, ready to fire.

 _‘I have done what you have asked, pilot. Now identify yourself and your purpose.’_ Said the pilot of the Aegis, his tone stern and demanding.

Kim sighed. He must be their leader, she thought. ‘Pilot of the Aegis, I am the leader of this counter-strike initiative. My name is Kim Desjardins, pilot of the Valiant. I am a Commander for the Division. Our two-men cell came here to protect the assaulted Archangel of the Earth Forces.’

She heard the ZAFT pilot chuckle. _‘Natural mercenaries, uh? The Earth Alliance couldn’t stoop any lower even if they tried.’_ His remark made Kim grit her teeth.

‘Says a Coordinator who had to resort to the theft of top-secret GUNDAM units to make ZAFT’s plans come to fruition.’ Replied Kim, her hand firmly gripping her sniper toggle. ‘Now it is your turn to identify yourself.’

‘My name is Athrun Zala, leader of this commando unit and I demand that you leave now before more people die.’

Kim heard Seth Yoshiro chuckle on his radio.

‘Who the hell does he think he is? Rude much, even for a ZAFT jarhead.’

Kim’s intense gaze focused on the enemy’s cockpit, her will made of iron.

‘No. Clearly, _you_ are at a disadvantage here, Coordinator Athrun Zala.’ She said, her operating system indicating that the _GAT-X207_ Blitz had been hit earlier by the Archangel’s Mobile armor, it’s left side emanating a think cloud of smoke that could only mean it was about to retreat for repair.

‘You only have three Mobile suits in condition to fight and your mothership is too far away for artillery support. Not only are you outnumbered, but you are also outgunned. I am the one who suggests _you_ leave. We will not pursue you should you decide to retreat. Make a choice.’ she said, but only got radio silence on her end.

‘Think they heard you?’ asked Seth.

‘I hope so, for their sake.’

And soon, she had her answer. _‘Pilot Kim Desjardins of the Division, I-’_

 _‘Don’t you dare let yourself be intimidated by the likes of her, Athrun! They’re Naturals! They should comply if they know what’s best for them!_ ’

Not only had Kim and Seth heard this stranger’s voice, but so had the rest of the pilots on the field, the open radio channel that was being used making this whole parlay situation a very public affair.

 _‘Stop it, Yzak. You do not have the authority to make this decision. I’m the one in charge here!’_ Athrun snapped back.

 _I wonder about that…_ thought Kim.

 _‘Pilot Kim Desjardins, we will not retreat. We have orders to take the Strike and to destroy the Archangel. You are not assigned to this ship and therefore, I will give you one last chance to retreat. This is your last warning.’_ Athrun Zala’s voice confirmed his convictions.

Kim swiftly inputted a weapon change in her operating system and the Valiant automatically reached for the laser longsword pack attached to its back, Kim firmly handling her weapon toggle, readying her machine for an impending duel.

‘Then meet your doom, Athrun Zala.’

With one large swing of its longsword, the Valiant aimed at the Aegis, its pilot quickly hovering backward, his machine’s large shield pushed forward to defend itself against Kim’s assault. Kim pressed firmly on the accelerator, the Valiant’s heavy body pushing back the Aegis in the depth of space and swung its large laser sword sideways, gaining momentum for a sideways thrust. The pilot of the Aegis managed to escape Kim’s devastating blow by sacrificing his GUNDAM’s shield, the Valiant’s longsword cutting it in half as the Aegis dashed away from Kim, flying upwards. The Aegis had taken damage from the Valiant’s broadsword charge, its left arm covered in smoke.

But the Aegis wasn’t taken down. That pilot had managed to defend himself.

‘Persistent little thing you are, Athrun Zala of ZAFT…’ she mumbled to herself, tailing the red Mobile suit.

‘Kim, watch out!’ The strident sound of Seth’s voice echoed in her cockpit as she noticed the vibrant red dot that dashed towards her on her radar screen, the Duel gliding through the dense nothingness of space towards the Valiant, sniper aimed at the indigo-colored GUNDAM, ready to fire.

_‘You won’t get away with this!’_

_‘Stop it, Yzak! This is not the moment to be rash!’_ screamed the pilot of the Aegis.

_‘These Naturals will pay for what they’ve done! Starting with her!’_

The GUNDAM codenamed Duel swiftly equipped its precision positron ray sniper and shot in Kim’s direction, the Division pilot quickly dodging the rays as the Valiant danced in the emptiness of space, Kim’s flying skills thoroughly put to the test as the indigo-colored machine glided away from the laser beams.

‘Stop that! Athrun, leave!’ he screamed to his microphone, his voice strident over the radio communications.

With a strong blast of its positron cannon, the Strike aimed at the Duel and shoot down its leg, the pilot of the Duel now cornered and facing the Valiant and the Strike, Kim’s laser broadsword pointed menacingly at its cockpit.

‘Leave, Coordinator pilot. This battle is over.’

‘ _Let’s go, Yzak! Nicol and Athrun have retreat already! Did you not hear? He’s ordering us to retreat! We’ll die here if this goes on!’_ screamed the pilot of the GUNDAM Buster, aiming its large Gottfried cannons at the Strike and the Valiant from a distance. One blast of this and the Valiant and the Strike would be shot down, thought Kim. From the corner of her eye, she saw the Outpacer fly the damaged Mobile armor unit to the Archangel, leaving Kim Desjardins and Kira Yamato to deal with the two ZAFT pilots who refused to retreat.

‘I said leave!’ screamed Kim. ‘You can’t possibly think to defeat us today! Leave!’

 _‘Why should I bow down to you, you disgusting Natural?’_ said the pilot named Yzak.

Kim’s eyes now glimmered with a dark light of anger. ‘Because if you don’t, I’ll destroy you, along with the GUNDAM Buster! Or perhaps have you not noticed just how precarious your situation is? Or is your hotheadedness blinding you from the facts? Leave now. This has gone on long enough.’ warned Kim, the Strike at her back.

_‘Let’s go, Yzak. We’re outnumbered. We’ll get them some other time. Athrun has ordered us to retreat. We need to follow his orders, now!’_

Finally, the Duel hovered away, leaving Kim and Kira to lower their weapons before the pilot of the Duel spoke again, his voice now transpiring with deep anger.

_‘Next time we meet in battle, I’ll end you, Natural.’_

And with that, the Duel and the Buster disappeared into the horizon, leaving Kira and Kim hovering in the vastness of space.

‘Was that your first battle, Kira?’ Kim asked as she updated the Valiant’s operating system to standby mode, the large indigo-colored machine retracting its long broadsword.

 _‘No.’_ she heard him reply, a hint of sadness in his voice. _‘But it was the first time I’ve seen a pilot so gifted. What you did… It was amazing. I’ve never seen someone fight so… efficiently.’_ He said.

Kim smiled. ‘With a little more experience, I’m sure you’ll be just as good.’

As they flew back to the Archangel, Seth Yoshiro, pilot of the _Division_ ’s Outpacer GUNDAM

‘Kim, this is Seth. I’m relaying the Archangel’s message to you. The preparations have been made for Kira to come back. They also wish that we also board the Archangel. The captain insisted on meeting us.’

Kim sighed. This was not usually part of the protocol she had to follow.

‘Can we trust them, Seth?’ she asked. ‘We should head back to the Star-Strike immediately.’

‘Kim, we just saved their only two pilots’ lives. The captain did say she insisted on shaking hands with us. We can’t refuse.’ He said. ‘And maybe they have good food onboard. I’m starving.’

Kim chuckled. Well, that’s Seth for you, she thought.

As the Strike boarded the hangar, Kim made her decision.

‘Alright. Alert their CIC operator that we’ll embark for a short discussion.’

Before she knew, Kim had hovered the Valiant on the landing platform of the Archangel, the large launching station quickly wiring the indigo-colored Mobile suit that pulled it inside the large hangar. Kim looked down and saw that Seth had already disembarked from the Outpacer and was shaking hands with the engineering crew, along with the Archangel’s two pilots.

When Kim’s feet touched the ground, she was greeting with Seth Yoshiro bowing to her, a smile plastered on his face.

‘You did the _swish_ and _bam_.’ He said excitedly. ‘That was so damn cool, Kim.’

‘You said you wanted to see it, I delivered.’ she replied, amused. ‘You’re so childish.’ She continued, giggling.

‘So you’re the other pilot that saved our skins.’ She heard, a low baritone voice calling out to her. She turned around and saw a tall, blond-haired man walking towards her as he removed his helmet, deep blue eyes staring straight at her. He must be the Mobile armor's pilot, she thought. He was so tall Kim had to bend her neck backward, her helmet feeling heavy on her head. The tall man’s smirk was illuminated by his shining white teeth. _A charmer_ , she thought.

‘My name is Commander Mu La Flaga, pilot. What you did out there… There are no words to say how grateful I am for what you did, you and your subordinate. Where did you learn to pilot a Mobile suit like that?’ he asked. ‘Kira could use a tip or two, right boy?’ he asked, making the younger pilot blush as he also removed his helmet, his deep brown hair sticking to the sweat clinging to his forehead.

Obviously, this battle had taken a toll on the teenage pilot, he had been nervous.

‘Protecting this ship and its personnel was the objective of our mission, Commander. There’s no need for more than usual gratitude.’

‘Why don’t you remove your helmet so I can see your face and shake your hand?’ the older pilot asked, suddenly making Kim uncomfortable. This is not standard protocol, she reminded herself.

‘Not until I meet your captain, Commander.’ Mu La Flaga chuckled.

‘Of course. A stickler for strict military protocol, are you now? I can understand, we’re strangers after all. Follow me, then. We’ll head out to the commanding station right away.’ As Commander La Flaga took the lead towards the hangar’s elevator, Kira Yamato walked to Kim Desjardins and called out to her, his deep indigo eyes meeting hers through her helmet’s visor.

‘Thank you.’ He said, briskly catching up with his Commander, who nudged his shoulder in a friendly manner, Kira slightly whining about him being rough. Seth Yoshiro stepped next to Kim inside the elevator, his green eyes meeting hers.

‘Do we really have to keep this thing on?’ he said, pointing at his black Division helmet.

She rolled her eyes. ‘Yes. That’s an order.’

‘Oh, are you ordering me around now, Kim? That’s new. What if I remove it? Ya gonna hit me?’ He said, teasing her.

‘I guess I could tell Captain Ruck that you neglected treating me as your senior officer and disobeyed my direct order.’ She said, her taunt suddenly making the young Division pilot very nervous.

 _‘Please don’t.’_ he said, bowing to her. ‘Last time that happened, I had to deep scrub the Star-Strike’s bathrooms. _All of them._ ’

Kim laughed. ‘What a fitting punishment.’ Kim mused. ‘Captain Ruck does have a very active imagination. I wonder what he’ll come up with this time.’ She said. He whined again and the doors opened, Commander La Flaga and Kira Yamato leading them down a long white hallway as the regular personnel of the Archangel stated at the Division’s two-men cell that had saved them, examining their black pilot uniforms from head to toe.

‘Over here.’ Mu La Flaga called out, stopping before a large set of sliding doors as they opened, revealing the command deck of the Archangel and its leader officer, a tall and slender woman dressed in a white Earth Forces uniform, her warm brown eyes riveted on Seth and Kim.

‘Here they are, captain. Now, I’m off to rest. Come on kiddo’ He said, grabbing Kira Yamato’s arm.

‘ _But!-_ ’

‘Let the Captain speak to them, kid. Our business is done here. You need to eat and sleep.’ continued Mu La Flaga, pulling the brown-haired teenager away with him down the large hall, the sliding doors closing behind them, leaving Kim and Seth to stand awkwardly before the commanding crew of the Archangel, expressive eyes staring at them.

The captain of the Archangel stepped forward and smiled, her voice warm.

‘My name is Murrue Ramius. I’m the commanding officer of this ship, the Archangel. The crew and I wanted to thank you for your brave actions earlier in protecting this ship and its pilots. You can remove your helmets, soldiers. We are unharmed.’ She replied.

With that, Seth Yoshiro sighed in relief and quickly removed his helmet, his brown locks disheveled, his green eyes vibrant with post-battle adrenaline. ‘That’s much better!’ he exclaimed, looking at Kim. ‘Go on, Commander. They said they wouldn’t bite.’

Kim Desjardins felt uncomfortable, but decided to trust the captain of the Archangel, her hands reaching for her heavy helmet, pulling it off and letting her dark locks fall on her shoulders, her pale face now uncovered for all to see. The shock could be read across the crew’s face as they examined the two stranger pilots dressed in black uniforms. Seth stepped forward and shook Murrue’s hand politely, his lips curled in a signature smile.

‘My name is Seth Yoshiro. I am the pilot of the Outpacer and this is my _operations Commander,_ Kim Desjardin, pilot of the Valiant."

Murrue blinked, surprised.

‘You're a _Commander_?’ she said, pointing at Kim. ‘But you're so young. That is indeed very unusual!’ she exclaimed. ‘You must be quite the pilot if they awarded you the rank of Commander.’

‘In times of war, the unusual becomes the new ordinary, Captain. Though I would like to press that despite my young age, I was deemed ready for this rank. I understand and respect the responsibilities that come with it.’

Murrue smiled. ‘I don’t doubt it.’

‘What is the _Division_ doing around here? We have not detected the presence of your mothership. And why did you barge in on an active battlefield?’ asked another voice coming from the woman who stood behind Murrue, her dark purple eyes glaring at Kim. The second officer of the Archangel, Natarle Badgiruel, stood straight before Kim, her gaze intense.

Kim sighed. She did not like the tone this officer was using to talk to her.

‘That is confidential information. I can’t disclose it without my acting superior’s permission. But you should already know that since you appear to be second in command of this ship.’ Kim said, pointing at the Lieutenant’s rank insignia on her shoulder. ‘Didn’t they teach you that at the Academy?’

Badgiruel’s eyes narrowed.

‘How dare you-!’

‘That’s enough, Natarle. We are here to speak to our guest, not _interrogate_ them.’ she replied firmly. ‘Is there anything we can offer you? We don’t have much considering we’ve been short-staffed and have limited supplies but…’

Kim shook her head. ‘No, we don’t require anything from you, thank you for the offer. We should be on our way, now. Seth, ready the Mobile suits. We’re leaving in five.’

Murrue Ramius frowned. ‘ _Leaving?_ But our engineers have just starting to make the repairs on your machines! You can’t leave now.’ she said, incredulous.

Kim shook her head. ‘We’ve been away from our mothership long enough as it is, Captain. We _must_ leave. Seth, that **was** an order.’ Seth Yoshiro knew that expression on his Commander’s face. Kim Desjardins was serious. And this was a direct order. He saluted the Archangel’s commanding crew and smiled to the Captain.

‘It was a pleasure meeting you, Captain.’ He said, running down the hall, jumping in the elevator leading to the hangar.

Kim was about to turn heels and follow him also after saluting the crew, but Badgiruel’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

‘I don’t think you quite understood my captain’s _order_ , Commander Desjardins. You are _not_ leaving.’ She said, reaching for the command unit in front of her, locking the sliding doors before Kim could exit. The Division’s Commander turned around, her dark eyes now glimmering with budding anger.

Kim Desjardins was not someone to give orders _to_ unless given strict permission to do so. She had a reputation within the Division’s own forces as the officer you just don’t want to cross- the crew of the Star-Strike could vouch. Kim Desjardins was well respected amongst the commanding staff she worked with, ranked higher than these two officers dressed in white standing before her. She had graduated from the specialized Earth Alliance’s office academy with the highest scores of her class, had passed the self-defense and advanced weapon-technician classes with flying colors, and had been qualified as a master markswoman at the tender age of seventeen years old.

Commander Duflamme had been right about Kim Desjardins. She had become a soldier.

The Division’s best solider. A true born warrior. A military dog.

And she feared _nothing_.

Kim Desjardins reached for the gun holster on the back of her belt, grabbing the black M9 pistol and quickly pointing it at Captain Ramius, earning terrified gasps from their CIC operator.

Kim put her index finger on the trigger, looking at Lieutenant Badgiruel with dark, intense eyes, Murrue slowly putting her hands in the air.

‘ _Listen to me, now._ ’ she said. ‘You _will_ unlock those doors right now before I need to use _this_.’ He said, looking at the hang gun she was holding in her right hand. ‘I did not come here to be retained. Protecting you was my mission. And now that my mission is over, I am under no obligation to do so anymore. Either you open these doors and let us go back, or things will get ugly. Your choice.’ She said, aiming the gun at Murrue’s head.

‘Captain!-’

‘Open the doors.’ Commander the Archangel’s captain. ‘Let her out.’

And with the sound of her words, the commanding deck’s door reopened, and Kim sighed, taking a step back, never letting go of her aim.

‘I wish it did not have to come to that, Captain.’ She said, finally lowering her firearm before quickly running down the hall, jumping in the elevator leading to the hangar to meet with Seth.

He had put on his helmet again and turned to Kim when he heard her run towards him.

‘Hey, Commander. I talked with the head mechanic. They won’t let us leave-’

Kim groaned. ‘Seth Yoshiro, the mechanic is not your Commander, I am. Now board the Outpacer, we’re leaving.’ She said, the young pilot saluting her before walking towards the platform that lifted him to the Outpacer’s cockpit.

Kim ran to the Valiant but was stopped by Murdoch, the head mechanic. ‘What do you think you’re doing? The repairs are not done! Heading out now is dangerous!’ he said, alarmed.

Kim pulled her arm away angrily. **_‘We’re leaving!’_** she said in a commanding tone, the mechanic freezing in place.

Kim Desjardins was a poised and rational individual, most of the time. She began to panic at the thought of behind held as prisoners on this ship. They had been gone for far too long and had left the Star-Strike unattended for too long a period. They needed to fly back and report as quickly as possible. As she climbed in the Valiant’s cockpit, she noticed that there was a message waiting for her in the communication operating system. She quickly deciphered the confidential message and read its content.

> **_Code red. All units are to return to the Star-Strike immediately. Star-Strike engaged in battle with ZAFT, all units are to return to the ship immediately. Code red. All units return to the Star-Strike immediately._ **

Kim’s heart began to race in her chest. Her mothership was being attacked!

‘Kim! Did you see the Captain’s message? What do we do? They closed the hatch, _we can’t get out!’_ said Seth, igniting the Outpacer.

Kim had to make a decision and fast. Either they stayed aboard the Archangel and let their crew perish at the hands of their enemy or force themselves out and destroy the Archangel’s hatch to get out.

She exhaled deeply, igniting the Valiant’s powerful neutron engine and slowly pressing on the accelerator, the Valiant’s feet disconnecting from the ground.

‘Seth, ready your weapons. _We’re going._ ’

As soon as she said the words, the Seth Yoshiro had equipped the Outpacer with its large positron cannon, the Valiant following its lead and Kim navigated through the artillery weapon system of her machine and equipped the Valiant with its own positron assault rifle as the two Division’s Mobile suits ripped themselves from the repair wires, the two pilots slowly hovering their machines inside the cramped hangar.

‘What are these kids doing? _They’ll wreck my hangar!_ ’ screamed Murdoch as Mu La Flaga ran to him, his blond hair disheveled by the warm wind caused by the sudden acceleration of the two Division’s Mobile suit.

And without notice, Kim aimed her positron rifle towards the depth of the Archangel’s long launching platform and fired, creating a whirlwind inside the hangar as the hatch’s door cracked open, creating a hole large enough for the Outpacer and the Valiant to fly out of and head into space again.

‘Now!’ screamed Kim as he furiously flew the Valiant towards the launching platform, Seth right behind her as they flew past the debris, heading towards the stars once again, leaving the Archangel behind.

Kim hoped that the members of their crew had not suffered serious injuries because of her, but she had no time to think about that.

‘I can’t believe you blew up their fucking hatch, Kim. What were you thinking?’ She heard Seth over her radio system. ‘We can’t consider them allies anymore. Did you ever think of that, oh wise Commander? You could have killed one of theirs!’ he protested.

But Kim Desjardins didn’t have time for sentimental nonsense.

‘We don’t need them, Seth. They were just an _assignment_ to us, nothing more. Forget about them. Now let’s hurry back! The Star-Strike is in danger.’


End file.
